I make no pretense of being a machinist, or toolmaker, but occasionally it's fallen to me to figure out how to fix something.
We had some fixtures needed for pressing large coil springs, which were basically just shafts turned to about �1.8" � .005", and I asked for them to be 32 finish or better. I ordered some S7 tool steel rounds, and gave them to the shop asking them to turn them to size and thread one end, prior to heat treating.
The "machinist" (he was really a mechanic) came to me the next day, with a shaft that looked like a tree that had been knawed by a beaver. He said, "how do you
cut this stuff?". I took the shaft and asked, "what kind of cutting oil did you use?" His reply was, "Oil?".
After I suggested sulphurized cutting oil, he grabbed the shaft and stormed out. The next day they turned out, more or less okay.
